The Next Day

Location: Training Corps

"Alright maggots! Today is the day where you will experience firsthand of ODM Gear! Also known as Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, it is the gear you will primarily use to kill the Titans but in order to use it, we must see if you fat fucks can stay balanced on them!" Shadis yelled out at the line of recruits.

Behind him were three wooden arches and each of them had two separate wire attached to a leather belt as they swung aimlessly in the wind. Both wires on each contraption connected to a crank that was on the side separately.

"Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackerman! You two are up first!" Shadis ordered as the two ladies walked forward and a separate cadet attached the belts to their waists while carefully monitoring where his hands went in order to not accidentally grope them in any shape or form.

After attaching Annie to the belt, the cadet rushed over to the crank and began turning as the wires tightened and raised the girl about a foot off the ground as Annie remained perfectly balanced. Mikasa also yielded the same results as she didn't show no signs of breaking equilibrium.

"We are in the presence of cadets who know how to handle themselves in new situations! Let's see who else has what it takes!" Shadis yelled before turning to two boys named Reiner and Bertholdt.

Both boys went to a separate station, secured the belt, got lifted up and balanced perfectly and this continued on as many cadets passed easily as some wobbled a bit but they managed to pass the test.

The last two cadets were Clayde and Eren as Shadis glared daggers at the one who insulted him yesterday as Clayde balanced himself perfectly with no trouble at all.

Eren, however, was a different story.

Almost immediately after he went into the air, he fell over as he was off-balanced. Now upside down, Eren tried to swing himself back up.

"What are you doing, Jaeger?! Get up!" Shadis ordered as Eren struggled to get up but it wasn't happening.

"No! I can't fail this test, not like this!" Eren thought as he gritted his teeth and tried to stand up before his whole body flopped to the ground.

Someone unbuckled his belt.

"What are you doing, shitstain?!" Shadis ordered as Clayde looked at Eren's belt before showing a deformed pin on it.

"The pin is obviously broken... now I don't know if you look at these belts thoroughly or not but my friend is not failing this test." Clayde declared seriously before taking off his belt while some ladies watched curiously but it was the ODM belt and not his own.

"Go to horny jail, girls!" He yelled out as the perverts blushed in embarrassment before he handed his belt to Eren, "Take yours off and put mine on."

Eren nodded before standing up and traded belts before he reattached himself to the wires as Clayde took it upon himself to crank the handle and Eren floated back into the air and was balanced.

"I-I did it! Does this mean I passed?" Eren said in hope that Shadis didn't disqualify him but the Commander nodded.

"You passed... NOW EVERYONE START RUNNING A HUNDRED LAPS DUE TO CLAYDE'S INSUBORDINATION!!!!" Shadis yelled out as everyone nodded but they mentally groaned as most of them shot glares at Clayde.

The latter helped Eren out of his belt before putting his arm around Eren's shoulder and noogied his head.

"I told you I got your back, buddy!" Clayde said as he dug his fist into Eren's head as the boy struggled to get out of it.

"I get it, knock it off alre-OW!" Eren yelled as Clayde laughed before releasing him as Mikasa and Armin ran up to them.

"See Mikasa? I told you I was going to pass." Eren said smugly.

"Well technically you passed because of me." Clayde pointed out.

"True." Armin confirmed.

"Eren, you need to be more careful." Mikasa said.

"With what?!"

"With how you handle yourself. I don't want you getting hurt."

"MAGGOTS, START RUNNING!" Shadis yelled loudly as Clayde rolled his eyes before the four of them started running towards the other cadets.

"We'll talk later." Eren concluded as the four friends splitted up as all the training cadets ran down a slope and were running in a huge oval that was 400ft long and 100ft wide. Like a herd of horses, the cadets began making their way around the massive loop as some in the front took off at full sprint without even considering their stamina.

Clayde was jogging comfortably as the hot sun baked on him but he's not going to let that bother him as he ran past some cadets before keeping it at a steady pace.

About two laps in, a female voice spoke to him from his right, "Hi."

"Oh, hello." Clayde greeted back.

"My name's Krista Lenz, nice to finally meet you." The girl replied kindly.

"Clayde....just Clayde, what do you mean finally meet me?" He asked.

"Oh! I thought it was sweet how you stood up for Sasha against Shadis. A lot of the other cadets said you're crazy for doing that." Christa replied as she jogged a bit faster to match his pace.

"Yeah well if they got a problem with me, they better say it straight in my face." Clayde replied.

"Sooo, what's your story?"

"My what?"

"What made you join the Cadet Corps?"

Clayde continued jogging as Krista waited for an answer before he replied, "I guess its to... explore what's outside the walls, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

Honestly, Clayde didn't know what to think as to what exactly motivated him to join the Corps in the first place. Sure it was to be with Eren, Mikasa and Armin and to also kick the asses of those arrogant Garrison Soldiers but... other than that, there was no other purpose.

His mind drifted back to when he vowed to Pochita that if he had the power, he would kill all Titans so he and Pochita can explore the outside world for a better life.

But he didn't have that power.

So he couldn't kill every single titan.

Also Pochita wasn't here at all.

He could be dead.

"I didn't really have a clear goal when I joined." Clayde admitted, "I just wanted to be with friends and eat some good food."

"I wouldn't say the food is good." Krista replied with a smirk.

"You're goddamn right."

They both laughed as Clayde looked at her and the sunlight gleamed on her as her blue eyes sparkled and her blond hair dazzled as his cheeks warmed a bit.

What the hell was this feeling that he was getting?

"Now, what about you? Why are you so... nice?" Clayde questioned as Krista looked to the side and for a moment, he saw a bit of sadness.

"I want to help people make sure that they don't lose faith in themselves. A lot of people lose hope in what they can do and end up dead... I don't want that to happen to anyone here, not if I can help them." Krista said with conviction.

"You do realize that not everyone survives right? Some people here will die." Clayde pointed out.

"But what if you could make a difference and prevent that from happening?"

"A chance like that doesn't exist."

"Do you really not believe that we can beat the Titans?" Krista asked.

"Time will tell, Krista... Only time will tell." Clayde replied as they both completed their eighth lap before someone else caught up to them. 

"Krista, come on." The girl said as she glared at Clayde.

"And you are?"

"None of your business."

"Ouch."

"Oh Clayde! This is Ymir." Krista introduced him to her other friend as Ymir did nothing to acknowledge him as she looked at the blonde girl.

"Krista, its best to slow down a bit and conserve energy." Ymir advised her friend.

"But I'm fine!" Krista complained adorably.

"Come on." Ymir gently took her arm before glaring at Clayde one more time and spoke, "Stay away from her."

"Woman or not, I will beat the shit out of you." Clayde promised before the two ladies fell back into the crowd of running cadets.

After another ten minutes, about fifty cadets started to run painfully slow around the thirtieth lap as exhaustion seeped into their muscles but still, most of them hung on. Clayde kept on running as Krista's words echoed in his head.

"But what if you could make a difference and prevent that from happening?"

Her words stuck straight in his head as he wondered if he would ever have that opportunity at all to actually make a difference. Already he could think of one instance where this happened to him... and that was when he risked his life to save his mother, who still died.

He had a chance to leave his encounter against that titan and he could've escaped with his mother and Pochita... both of whom are dead possibly. The chance of them being alive now are practically impossible as Clayde sighed sadly.

"Sorry Krista but even if I had a chance to make a difference, it was already wasted." He said to himself.

"What?" A voice asked.

Clayde looked to his left to see a a boy jogging besides him as he had light brown eyes as his hair blew back in the wind as he looked at him worriedly.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Just thinking aloud, it gets lonely." Clayde replied as the cadet laughed.

"I guess so... Marco Bodt." He introduced himself and held out his hand.

"Clayde." He greeted back as he shook his hand and both of them continued to jog.

"So what regiment are you shooting for?" Marco asked.

"The Scouts." Clayde replied as Marco looked at him with wide eyes.

"Really? Don't you know the number of people who die on each expedition?"

"Oh I know, possibly just to end it all." Clayde replied bluntly as Marco looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean?!" He asked in surprise and shock.

"You know Krista?"

"Oh yeah, the cute blonde girl." Marco sighed happily as Clayde rolled his eyes.

"Well she told me, 'What if I could make a difference and prevent everyone here from dying?'" Clayde quoted as Marco thought about it for a second.

"If any of us had that chance... I can't speak for everyone but I know that I would take it." Marco replied.

"Right but the thing is that I already had that chance and I fucked up."

"Oh... how?"

"In the Battle of Shiganshina, I had a chance to leave safely with my mother who was being carried away by a soldier but I chose the wrong decision and faced off against the Titan that was about to eat her." Clayde recalled as Marco looked at him in shock.

"You beated a titan with no ODM gear?!"

"Faced the titan... not beated it."

"So how did you survive?"

"I had a... dog. He was one of the only friends I ever had and he sacrificed himself to save me most likely since I'm still breathing." Clayde said sadly even though he didn't know for sure if Pochita but it was a high possibility and there was no point in denying the inevitable now.

"And... your mother?" Marco hesitantly asked.

"She struggled with the soldier who rescued her until he lost control and hit the ground, when he got back up, she disappeared... no news of her since. I'd be an idiot to believe that she's still alive right now."

Marco rested a hand on Clayde's shoulder as they neared the thirty fifth lap, "I'm sorry man but killing yourself isn't the way."

"Who said I was killing myself? The scouts expeditions that I will eventually undertake, one of them is bound to kill me." Clayde replied.

"Just because you're joining the Scouts doesn't mean that you'll die, you'll probably surprise yourself. Even fulfilling Krista's words before you even know it." Marco said reassuringly.

"Alright enough of my sad story bullshit, what regiment are you going for?" Clayde asked curiously to try and get off the topic.

"The Military Police!" Marco stated proudly.

"Pussy." Clayde replied.

"What?!"

"You would rather live a boring ass life in the interior than to live a life of risk and adventure with the Scouts?" Clayde deadpanned at Marco.

"I don't wanna die!" Marco replied.

"Then why not dissuade me of not joining the Scouts just to kill myself?" Clayde asked as Marco went silent before he sighed.

"You look like you have your mind made up and I can't do anything about it."

"You got that damn right."

"Hi boys." A new voice spoke.

"Hi Mina!" Marco greeted back as Clayde looked at her.

"Mina....Wait, Mina Carolina? Weren't you the girl who baldy said you were a fly buzzing around a pig's ass?" Clayde recalled as Mina looked at him with wide eyes.

"That's the first thing you think about when you hear my name?!" Mina cried out in disbelief.

"Yup, it was pretty funny." Clayde said as he had a shit eating grin on his face.

Mina sighed, "But yes, I am Mina Carolina and you are Clayde, if I'm correct?"

"Yup."

"No last name?"

"None that I know of."

"Great."

"Me and Clayde were just talking about what regiment we're joining." Marco said as Mina looked at them curiously.

"Oh, what regiment do you both plan to join?" Mina asked curiously.

"The Military Police."

"The Scouts."

"The Scouts?!" Mina shouted in shock, "Do you kn-?!"

"The death toll, yes, I fucking know. Next topic." Clayde said in a tone that clearly told both of them to drop it.

"Alright, what do you y'all wanna talk about?" Marco asked as Clayde gained a crazy look on his face.

"First one to finish gets the other two's dinners for the afternoon." Clayde suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Mina asked as Clayde looked at her.

"Fuck yes, your food is mine!" Clayde yelled before increasing his jog speed as Marco and Mina looked at each other worriedly.

"Start running." Marco said before the two of them poured on the speed to catch up to the maniac.

Afternoon

"That hungry son of a bitch... where is he?" Marco muttered as he looked to see the other cadets in their sleepwear and they were pouring into eat dinner as it was bread along with some stew with god knows what's in it.

Mina and Marco sat at a separate table before Clayde hopped into the hall, found the table and sat down as he looked at the two of them.

"Alright, here you go." Mina said as she pushed her food towards him along with Marco but Clayde didn't take it which confused them.

"Aren't you going to eat it?" Marco asked.

"I just said that so you sorry asses don't get caught up in the nightly training." Clayde said bluntly as he slid their bowls back to their respective owners.

"What?" Mina said confused.

"Shadis is having the lazy recruits pull an all nighter for not completing a hundred laps in five hours." Clayde replied before sipping his stew and biting a chunk of bread off.

"You are an asshole, you know that?" Marco noted to Clayde who shrugged.

"A clean one, I'll have you know." Clayde replied as Mina and Marco laughed as he himself chuckled.

The afternoon carried on as the three cadets became close as they shared their stories and forged a deep bond as not just soldiers but as friends. Soon enough, it was time to hit the sack as cadets went to their barracks.

"Well this was eventful." Clayde said with his arms around his head as he burped loudly, "And delicious."

"You said it, pal." Marco agreed as Mina rolled her eyes.

"Boys, I swear..." Mina muttered as Clayde peered over at her.

"Oi sweetheart, you'll learn to step out of your shell.... now both of you go away, I got a hot date with a babe called a bed!" Clayde said as he walked off as Marco called out to him.

"Night, man!"

"G-Good night, Clayde!" Mina yelled as the comment Clayde said to her made her face a bit red before she and Marco went to their separate barracks.

Entering the barracks, Clayde saw Eren laying on his bed as he was wide awake while Armin, Reiner and Bertholdt were fast asleep. Eren saw Clayde lay face first on his bed before he decided to speak.

"Clayde?" Eren whispered.

"What?" Clayde said as his voice was muffled.

"I just wanna say thanks for helping me out with the ODM test."

"No problem, man." Clayde said as he turned and faced Eren as Armin was fast asleep on the bunk above him as he looked up.

"Tired day for everyone, huh?"

"I guess so." Eren muttered as he looked at Clayde and saw that he had a thoughtful look on his face but before he could question it, Clayde spoke first.

"Hey Eren, if you had the chance to make a difference and save everyone, would you take it?"

Eren was surprised by the question but he spoke, "Of course! Why wouldn't I take it?... You're telling me you wouldn't take it?!"

"No... I'm saying what if that chance had already presented itself to you but you didn't take it and it resulted in death." Clayde replied bitterly as Eren widened his eyes.

His mother... that was the first thing that came into his mind as the memory of that titan devouring his mother because he couldn't get her out from under the rubble. He closed his eyes as tears threatened to spill but he held them in.

"Yes." Eren said as his voice got shaky, "My mother died because I couldn't save her.... You're right, that chance has already came to me and I blew it."

Clayde looked at Eren sadly, "You're not the only one, I faced off against the Titan that was about to eat me and my mom along with my dog. I had the chance to take off with both of them with the soldier but I stayed and fight which resulted in both my dog and my mom dead."

Eren looked at Clayde and spoke, "I swore that I will kill all the Titans and I will fulfill that promise... I will make that chance present itself to me one more time." He spoke with conviction as Clayde nodded in understanding.

"Sorry about the random question...it's been on my mind ever since Krista asked me it at the field." Clayde replied.

"The blonde girl everyone's calling a goddess?" Eren clarified as Clayde nodded in confirmation, "That's a weird question to ask."

"Well if she's like a goddess then questions like that are bound to pop up... well, good night, Eren." Clayde said before he punched himself in the face and he began snoring softly as Eren looked at him weirdly before he shrugged and went to sleep.

In the top bunk above Clayde, Armin was secretly awake and overheard the conversation as he thought to himself...

Had that chance presented itself to him already?

...

....

.....

Or

...

....

.....

Was that chance going to present itself to him in future?

HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY!!!